The road to the Nullarbor – Barrier draw

Jack Callaghan had the hard task of drawing the barrier for Spirit Of St Louis and the Aaron Bain Summit Bloodstock Slot and he did not disappoint, drawing barrier 1 in this Friday nights, $1.25million Gr1 The Nullarbor.

With just two runs remaining in Australia before he heads to the US, Callaghan is disappointed to see the impressive horse leave but is hopeful the pair can get the job done this Friday as a last hurrah.

Bunbury based Mighty Ronaldo drew barrier two, with connections Glen Mortimer very happy with their position in the race.

A seasoned FFA horse, Mortimer found it hard to split his two horses with Never Ending only just starting his campaign against the fast class. Never Ending drew barrier 10 in this week’s Group 1 for Slot Holder Ladbrokes.

The Jason Grimson trained Hot And Treacherous drew barrier 3 and with his blistering gate speed, it could be a great battle at release point with Grimson keen to lead.

The Regency Food Slot choice in Catch A Wave drew 4 in the race, with Kate Gath happy with the geldings first look at Gloucester Park last week.

“Can’t complain too much (with the draw) looks to be a fair bit of speed underneath him.”

Owner and a lot holder Steve Waters has made the trip over from Newman Zealand, drawing barrier 5 with his runner jumpingjackmac.

“We’re very happy to have him as our slot horse, we’re going to win it one day, but I hope it’s Friday night.” Steve Waters said

Swingband drew barrier 6 for Jeavons Racing.

“It’s not the best but it’s not the worst/ hopefully we can get a little bit of luck from the draw.” Kyle Symington said

The last horse to confirm was the first horse to draw, with Mike Reed coming up with barrier 6 for his runner Blitzembye.

“Not a good draw, but it’s just a number. You’re in the race, you’ve got a chance,

“Will be interesting to see how he goes amongst these horses.“ Reed told Tim Walker after the draw

Westbred poster boy Lavra Joe will be looking to take out his first Gr1 feature, but with some disappointment with the draw, trainer Ray Jones knows they’ve got a hard task ahead of them with the gelding drawing barrier 8 on Friday night.

“He’s probably he’s going the best he’s ever gone, his work at home is very good.” Jones said

Team Bond will be starting from the widest on the front line in The Nullarbor with Minstrel drawing barrier 9.

“It hurts the barrier draw, but that doesn’t mean we can’t win it,”

“We knew he’s always had the ability and we didn’t have him this top for a while,”

“We had an offer from America but Skye didn’t want to sell, she said she could get him to win that in the next 4-5 months and she has.” Greg Bond said

The Nullabor Field

1 – Spirit Of St Louis (Sweet Lou)

2 – Mighty Ronaldo (Alta Christiano)

3 – Hot And Treacherous (Captaintreacherous)

4 – Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous)

5 – Jumpingjackmac (Mach Three)

6 – Swingband (Alta Christiano)

7 – Blitzembye (Bettor’s Delight)

8 – Lavra Joe (Roll With Joe)

9 – Minstrel (Rocknroll Hanover)

10 – Never Ending (Sweet Lou)

11 – Diego (Bettor’s Delight) (Em 1)

12 – Pinny Tiger (Mach Three) (Em 2)

13 – Tenzing Bromac (Bettor’s Delight) (Em 3)

14 – Valentines Brook (Rock N Roll Heaven) (Em 4)

For complete race entries, click here.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA